Reincarnation

A Night Out

Lana

“They’re here.” I heard the group behind Libby whisper. Libby’s knuckles were turning white.

“You know what I miss?” Libby said, raising her hand to signal the waiter. “Kids menus.”

“What?” Before I had a chance to question her, she asked for a kid’s menu with some crayons.

“Let’s color, we can feel like kids again.” She said, picking up a crayon and writing something down on her menu.

We can talk to each other openly like this.

They are vampires. I wrote down.

What are vampires doing meeting with humans in a Denny’s?

Can’t be anything good. Should we stay for a little bit longer?

I think the vampires already know what you are. They are overly interested in your scent right now. I can feel it off them.

I didn’t think about that.

I doodled idly in the corner of the paper, allowing myself to listen in. On the surface, it appeared to be casual conversation, but every now and then I could hear words that sounded like code.

“We got some girls to get out for the night tomorrow.” One of the men said. “They’re down for anything.”

“Just bring them with you.” One of the vampires said, little humor in his tone. “We can all meet at Onyx.”

“That new club that opened?”

“It’s pretty popular right now, the new place to be.”

“Sounds good to me.” The vampires stood up, pausing briefly before leaving. “Don’t forget to hold up your end, everything’s all set on our side.”

We waited for the group to pay for their food and leave as well. Libby couldn’t help shuddering before anxiously finishing her coffee and pouring another.

“Whatever any of that is, I don’t like it.” She mumbled to herself.

“Well, I guess there’s only one thing left to do,” I said with finality. She looked at me curiously. “Well, obviously we have to snoop around and find out.”

This was the first I’d been around vampires in a long time.

“It was weird they didn’t engage with you.” She rested her chin on the palm of her hand.

“My guess is that they had other business to get to.”

“What was it about a new club? They were talking so quietly I could barely hear.”

“Apparently a new club that’s opened. Onyx or something.” Libby pulled her phone out.

“Nothing that a quick Google search wouldn’t help.”

I nervously tapped my foot, waiting for her to speak up again.

“I guess there’s a new club in the area called Club Onyx. It’s actually not too far from here.” She scrolled for a few moments. “The last bit they said, it made me kind of think of a drug deal.”

“Maybe, it can’t be anything good.”

We paid and left the restaurant, hurrying back to the car. I paused before getting in. The scent of the vampires was all around the vehicle.

“Are you coming?” Libby called from the driver’s seat. I slid into the passenger’s side and buckled up. They were definitely intrigued enough to investigate my scent, but didn’t stick around, it seemed. The thought of it sent a chill down my spine.

“Maybe we should go ahead and go back home.”

“Say no more.” Libby agreed and pulled off, nervously looking in her rearview mirror. We sat in silence until we got onto the highway.

“At least we can say we have plans tomorrow.” Libby smiled mischievously.

“Do we?” I blinked.

“What? You’re not curious?” She spared me a look before returning her gaze to the road. I chewed on my bottom lip contemplating. “Gives me an excuse to go shopping for some hot as f**k outfits.”

Maybe getting involved wasn’t the best idea, but at the same time, we had to be prepared. Maybe I could figure out what Eli was up to at the same time…

Neoma stirred in my chest at the painful pang that came with thinking about his name.

“Would Elijah let you go to the club and investigate?”

“Who said he had to know right now?” She shrugged it off. “He would say no to the danger or insist on coming with. Either way, I feel like this is something we need to do.”

“Of course he’s overprotective of you.” I laughed. “But, no, I get it… f**k it. Let’s do it.”

Libby drummed the steering wheel excitedly. “Clubbbbing!”

The next day went by in a flash. I decided to ask my Beta, Rose Woods, to take over for me when it came to paperwork, so I could meditate in peace in preparation for later that night. Her late husband, the previous Alpha of Azul Moon once took the role, after blending our packs, but with his death a year prior due to a heart attack. I ended up bestowing the role to his beloved Luna. She adeptly took to her duties after taking time to mourn, but she was amazing in everything she did. She became my most trusted right hand within Silver Moon ranks.

I did some yoga in my chambers, while burning some incense that Libby had gifted to me. She insisted it would ward off negative energies and purify my soul.

Noticing the time, I showered quickly and went to my closet.

Where are you taking my Luna tonight? Came Elijah’s stern voice as he linked our minds.

I rifled idly through my hung outfits. “All work and no play makes Luna a dull girl. Relax, you know I’d protect her if it came to that. She’s in the right hands and deserves a night out. Plus, you’re forgetting that she’s a badass witch and fully capable of taking care of herself.”

Why can’t I come too? All work and no play makes Alpha a dull boy too! He complained in the back of my mind, I could feel the energy of his wolf. Noctis was like a fresh pup whining inside of him.

“Girl’s night. Sorry, Commander.” I held a dress against my body in the mirror, tilting my head. Nah, that wouldn’t do. I tossed it to the side. I really had nothing to wear.

Considering she made off with my credit card and a small fortune in preparation, I think your outfit choice should already be set in stone for the night. He grumbled again.

“Thank you for letting me hang out with Libby tonight, I’ll be sure to send her back in one piece.” I closed the connection as there came Libby’s telltale knock on my chamber door. I opened it to see her with a bunch of shopping bags.

“I BROUGHT THINGS!” She had a twinkle in her eye as she jumped up and down, racing past me to my bed. She laid everything down and began to dig through. “I saw this dress and thought, this was so you.”

She tossed a slinky shiny silver number in my direction, and I caught it. It was scandalously short and very… I mean the material itself was… To be honest, I really had no words, what the hell it was.

“I’ve never worn anything like this before. Is it even a dress? Or is it a shirt? What is the fabric? It’s not even fabric, it feels like metal, or jewelry…”

“That, my dear, is the epitome of club dress in this day and age. Don’t complain, you’re going to look hot as hell, plus it’s reflective, so the club lights will dazzle and sparkle off of it.”

“The halter part is like a necklace chain. Will it hold up?”

“It’s a platinum chain, interlaced with diamonds. It’s really sturdy, so it won’t break. Looky, looky, I also got a s**t load of makeup, we are going ALL OUT!” She looked so satisfied, I didn’t have it in me to argue. I said a silent prayer to Elijah’s bank account and we both delved in and glitzed up.

Staring at myself in the mirror at my glammed up appearance. When she said she wanted me to shine, she meant it. She even bedazzled the marks on my forehead and back with body jewelry.

“Oh, you're definitely going to be a star tonight.”

“Meaning, my purpose is to blind anyone that comes within a few feet of me with any flash of light? I think the mission will be successful. That being said, this isn’t very, uh, incognito, is it?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve started to become a stuffy old Alpha too.” She faked a pout in my direction. “Your eyeliner is so on point, I think I did an amazing job. Maybe in another life, I became a makeup artist.”

Gazing at her, she really did herself up too. She looked amazing in her short gradient cobalt blue mini dress. The diamond choker had a dazzling chandelier chain that trailed down her bare back and wrapped around her torso like a body harness. She adorned with sparkly silver stilettos and a bedazzled constellation of jewels around her beautiful green eyes.

She insisted we take pictures, and I couldn’t help but absorb her giddiness.

“The limo should be here soon.” She said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“A limo too?” I blinked.

“I had to be extremely extra for all of this, you know me. I even ordered a case of special reserve champagne so that you could get a little buzz.”

Soon we were off, playing loud music in the back of the limo and popping open the champagne. I hadn’t gotten drunk in so long, it was a nice feeling. A liquid buzz settled in my system, it felt like it didn’t take long at all to pull up to Club Onyx. The building itself looked sleek, black on chrome, with red and blue lights glowing in the accents. There was a large line of people waiting to enter, dressed up in their best attire for the night. The limo pulled up in the VIP area, and we got out, making our way to the bouncer who guarded the entrance. The other people waiting to get in, looked at us visibly frustrated. Who knows how long they were waiting to be granted entrance. The bouncer stamped our hands with special UV light ink and allowed us through.

The inside was ridiculously impressive. The dancing lights cast a red and blue gradient around the entirety of the building.

A waitress began to lead us up to the second floor balcony where they had the VIP reserves in skyboxes that overlooked the entirety of the club. Along the way, I caught a whiff of several familiarly sweet scents… But one of them stood out the most. The song suddenly changed, and walking up the stairs, I paused, looking out over the expanse of the crowd. Heart by Darkside began to play, and I knew it in my heart. He was here… Somewhere…

I also felt that he was completely aware of my presence as well.